45 degrees and 95% humidity - didn't know that this exists

Dear readers,

Summertime in Oman is really breaking records for me.
A few days back was one of the most horrible weather situation that I experienced in my life. Even my trip to the rainforest in Australia could not prepare me for this.

45°C at 95% humidity

To give you some examples what that means:

• The very second you leave an air conditioned building during the day, your sun glasses are foggy
• Within 20 seconds between the door of the building and your car, your skin is covered with drops of sweat
• Playing football is like exercising in a sauna
• At the end of the day, there is no difference between dry and wet

Luckily, these conditions only remained for 2 days and we have already reached the middle of the summer :-)

Take care
Hajo

51 degrees - like ice in the sunshine

Hey you people out there,

Hope you all are alright and the effects of the financial crisis passed you from far away.

I guess most of you are spending there time in some countries where you experience this year's summer time. And i guess most of you think, wow finally summer. I can only partially share this feeling. I can say, I prefer sunshine much more than any rainy weather. And I was laughing at the Omanis who wished it would be winter all year. I have to admit, they have a good point.

Right now we are reaching the peak of summer with temperatures over 40 degrees daily and sometimes up to 50 degrees. My record was 51 degrees a couple of weeks back. It is hard to describe how it feels being in this temperature, but I can tell you, the air condition is your best friend these days :-)

Besides that, work has becoming normal. Many people went on annual leave, and me staying here over the summer and do the work that is left. The good thing, I can work with less supervision and more freedom :-) the bad thing, I can't stand hearing the term "financial crisis" as an excuse for everything anymore. No bonuses paid, no promotions, no increments, people are released, any "financial crisis" is a buzzword, that you can hardly argue against. Perfect, for managers, bad luck for employees. What can I say: thanks to everyone who produced this crisis.

On a private level, things are going fine, I enjoy being around with my friends and new perspective are emerging. I tell you more at the right time.

So far, so good. I wish you all a great summer, that you are spared with 50 degrees and that you can enjoy it with the ones you love.

Take care
Hajo

Re-integration into Oman

Dear friends,

Hope your are doing well.

It is now four month ago, that I came back to Oman. Feels like time was flying since then. I was quite busy at work and had some trouble finding back into my life here.
By now, things are becoming normal again. I caught up with my projects, got in control of my time again and connected again to my social life.

The worst time was going to my office in the first week. Everyone was in an extremely bad mood, some colleagues did not even say hello and sent me tasks per email instead, people were randomly blamed for mistakes that lay in the responsibility of others and an extremely workload, because no one followed up on my projects while I was away. I asked myself at that moment, why am I here? At the moment, may job gives me a secured income, which is the main reason for me to stay. Additionally, due to the variety of projects that I am involved in, I have a good exposure and can build a strong network with our clients. In June, I'll finish one year here in Oman. Let's see how the situation develops in the remaining 12 months.

Besides my frustration with work, I found our house in an extreme mess and one felt responsible for cleaning it up, my housemates put a guy iin my room, without asking and that increase my 'inconvinience' factor even more.

On a social level it was much better. It was great to see my friends again, Hassan, Jehad, Hasna, Katy, Jocelle and Khalid. Still it was weird that the freedom that I got used to have in Germany, was suddenly restricted: No place to go out at night, people have to be home at a certain point of time and the opportunities for entertainment are limited. But sitting at the beach or shisha cafe while watching football or playing football helped me to adjust again into the Oman life.

So, excited times behind and even more exciting times ahead. Thank's a lot to Hasna for being sunshine for me and brightening up my day not only during the last four weeks.

So far so good, I'm fully re-integrated now and looking for new endeavours that lay ahead.

Maa salma

Hajo

Holidays in Germany

Hey Ho, my name is Hay-Jo :-)

just had some fun:-) alright. Today I'll write you about my holidays in Germany. Having been out of the country for over 9 months i was really keen on going back. So I took the chance and went home from 26th of March - 8th of April.

It felt a bit weired but also nice leaving so many friends here in Oman who wished me all the best, a good time and who were looking forward to receive me back. And at the same time coming home and having so many people waiting to see me back, family, friends, tax department, dentist, Koelsch, Altstadt and shopping :-)

And even the weather was on my side. Leaving the airplane in duesseldorf at moderate 12 degrees and rain it changed quickly to 20 degrees and sunshine :-) So it didn't take me much time to feel home again: Special thanks to my friends Aich, Ecke, Mischi, Lena, Sese, Inga, Steff, Jens, Sascha, Silke, Martin, Michaela, and the list goes even on and on. Was great to sit, chat, laugh, drink and just enjoying time.

I could also write a full chapter abour my family, mom and dad, chris, monika, salma, christian, and my wonderful nieces and nephews. You'll find some pictures in my album.

My heart cried a bit leaving them alone after these two weeks - but uncle Hajo had to go back.

Generally, being in Germany again was great. the best things are:

• spending time outside and walking


• freedom to do what, where, when and with who you want


• variety of food, especially Broetchen und Mett :-D


• being out until late


• seeing nature, Germany is soooooooo greeen and beautiful


• uniqueness of people, everyone is different in his personality and how he/she expresses it


• architecture and culture


• medical system


• transportation


• ice cream and pizza :-)

I could go on for a while, but that was the greatest things about Germany for me.

But at the same time, a part of my life is now in Oman, with all the amazing people I know. Right now i feel a little bit in between, because it leaving either country hurts a bit, although I do not want to settle down in Oman.

Let's see where life takes me :-) But definitely, you should all come to Germany once, during spring or summer - beautiful.

See you there or in Oman

Hajo

The last four months

Dear Blog Readers,

several months past since you red my last entry on this blog. I felt that nothing much extraordinary happened during this time which is worthy talking about. Also I was quite busy with work, Arabic classes, football and so on that i didn't find the proper inspiration and time to share some stories with you. But I heard the call and your wishes for new stories about Oman and I am more than happy to satisfy your needs :-)

Developments from the last four months

in brief, the following things happened the last four months in my life:

• I extended my contract with PwC Oman until June 2010 (having a secured job is a valuable asset these days:-)


• I bought a car - Toyota Yaris in silver - My first car ever


• I"m still living in the same villa but looking for a new place to stay with some friends from summer on


• I found sunshine in my heart ;-)


• My brother came for a one week visit at the beginning of February (see pictures in my web album)


• I went for holidays home to Germany for a couple of weeks in March/April

That's all i can think of for now.

Tomorrow I will post some impressions from my stay in Germany and from my "Re-integration to Oman".

Take care wherever you might be right now.

Hajo

Rain, Clouds, Sandstorm - Rain at last

Hello my friends,

I'm living and working in Oman for 6 months now. Who could have imagined that?

And it is the first time that I see rain in Oman. It might seem as nothing special for the most of you. And it was even for me, coming from the European climate. But being here, rain is something extraordinary. In average it rains about 3-4 days in a year. When the dark clouds appeared in the sky, many people ran out on the street to feel the water on their skin and to thank god. And I have to admit, that it was something special for me, too.
After the rain came a sandstorm. Within 5 min, the sky darkened, a strong breeze came up and suddenly there was wind and sand all over the place. For 10 min, my whole office was at the windows and watching the phenomenon. It was interesting to watch, as the air became sandy and dusty and then it was good as quickly as it came. The onlt leftovers was sand all over the place and cars covered with a thin film. When I went home in the afternoon, the streets have become a dangerous place. Water spots everywhere that enforced hydro planning. But as a rain proofed European, I made my way home. Sometime I had to left the asphalt and pass a waterpot on the side.

Now, the rain is gone again, and insha allah the sun will stay out for the rest of the winter.

Hope you all enjoy the christmas time at home. My next post will be about my christmas time here. Unfortuately, my camera broke, so I won't be able to show you many pictures. But we'll see.

Hajo

Being Omani resident now

Hello friends,

Hope you all had a good summer in Germany.

After a hot summer full of activities, life in Oman has become more calm and the temperature levelled on comfortable 30 degrees.

And finally, I am an Omani Resident now :-)) I took me almost 6 weeks to go through this process of taking pictures, filling out many forms, giving a blood sample, my fingerprints, and a lot of time and persistence, I got my labour card. And now I am officially an Omani resident :-)

My next step is to open a bank account, get an Omani driving licence and enjoy my life even more.

Work wise things are going well, too. After Ramadan business speeded up a bit and I#m able to work on some interesting projects.
Additionally, I started ny Arabic classes last week. Over the next 10 weeks I'm gonna have 25 classes in total from 7pm to 9pm. As the language institute is next to my office, I go directly after work. Although it means, that I#m not coming back home before 9:30pm during these days, it is fun andI'm eager to learn this language. Be suprised how much I can speak when I return to Germany :-)

During the last weeks, I applied to some jobs in Germany, at PwC, Deloitte, ThyssenKrupp. we'll see what will be the results. As a backup, our PwC Country Patner for Oman already asked me, if I would like to stay for longer to help building up the Business Advisory Department. Let'ssee what next year will bring, insha allah.

Have a good weekend

Hajo

Ramadan Mubarak - the holy month

Hello my friends,



How are things? I hope life is treating you well.



Today I want to tell something about Ramadan. When people think of Ramadan, they might think of Muslims fasting the whole day. This is actually true. But in order to understand the reasons behind it, you need to look deeper into this practise.



The objectives of Ramadan are basicly:

+ Solidarity with the poor people - go through what they go through

+ Spiritual enlightment

+ Mental discipline



So it's very similar to the fasting practised in Christianity or by the Jewish. And from my experience it is very true. During Ramadan, the lines between the social classes become smaler and hierachy level become lower, as everyone is going through the same tough feeling and experience of starving. It is also very common to give donations to the poor during these days.



In practise, the typical daily cycle for Muslims here in Oman is as follows:
+ breafast before the morning prayer at 4:30 am
+ praying - After the prayer no eating and drinking is allowed any more
+ start work between 8:30 am and 9:30 am. The government has reduced the working hours for Muslims during Ramadan to max. 36 hours per week. At PwC Muslims have to work min. from 8:30am - 3:00 pm.
+ working
+ shops usually close around 12:00 pm and don't open before 7:00pm. It is not possible to get food anywhere all over the city except of large supermarkets.
+ after work many people go to sleep, because they are eithre tired from being up late or it's just because of the low level of energy in the body.
+ after evening prayer at 6:22 pm Muslims are allowed to eat again. Some don't stop eating for the whole night and some jsut eat a bit. Both has advantages and disadvantages.
+ after dinner the life in the street becomes alive again. From 7:00 pm until far later then midnight people are on the steet, cafes or at friends, houses.
+ Some people go to bed around 11:00pm and some maybe at 2:00 or 3:00 am.

As you can see, the daily life cahnges completely during Ramadan, because of the eating habits and the opening hours of shops.
Me, I decided the best and most fruitful way to go through this Ramadan period is fasting, too. Currently, I have 10 days of fasting behind me inluding a little break while I was in Germany. Everyday I get up at 5:00 am, have a little breakfest, be at work at 8:00am, leave around 4:00 pm and kill time until 6:30 pm for dinner. The first week was hard to adjust to the rythmn. But it's getting easier now. I realised that I'm actullay eating smaller meals and more fruits than before without loosing significantly high amount of weight. So fasting it has also a good health aspect :-) I even still play football two times a week, of course after dinner ;-)
Beside this reason I think it is good for your character to be reminded from time to time how privilaged we are in terms of having enough food, water and luxuries avaialble. Last but not least having this Ramadan experience gives me a different access to the Arab culture whihc hopefully gives me new insight into their way of thinking.

I hope I could give you some nice views on Muslim fasting. And I'm already looking forwards to the huge "Eed" festival at the end of Ramadan (prob.1st of October) where everyone celebrates the achievement of successfully practising Ramadan and the joy of being allowed to feed the hunger during the day by having a wonderful lunch.


Ramadan Kareem

Hajo

A glimpse of Abu Dhabi

Dear all,

hope you all are in good health.
My last two weeks have been quite busy with work travelling and moving in our new home.
You'll find pictures from my trip to Salalah (06.-09.08. - south of Oman) and from my trip to Abu Dhabi (13.-15.08.) in my web album.

Let me tell you a little bit about Abu Dhabi. The emirate Abu Dhabi makes 85% of the total territory of the United Arab Emirates and has the majority of the oil reserves of the country. That makes Abu Dhabi to the richest of the emirates. From a appearance in the public media perspective,Au Dhabi doesn't get as much attention as Dubai. But this will change soon.

Actually Abu Dhabi has much more to offer than Dubai regarding culture, life style, living conditions and vision for the future. Additionally, although the Abu Dhabi Emirs are much more richer than Dubai counterparts, they are not exaggerating it. Take the Emirates Palace as an example. It is absolutely huge and overwhelming, they all allow you to live in one off the suites in the palace. There offer three different room categories and you can rent the top suite for less than 1000 EUR a night in the high season.
Beside the emirates palace they have many parks, shopping malls, a very nice corniche and beach road and much less traffic than Dubai.
On top of that they are planning to realise some huge projects. One is the carbon emission free city, means that a whole city is operating sustainably by emitting very few CO2 gases and having enough green areas to filter the remaining CO2. It's going to be the first project of it's kinf in the world. Secondly, they are going to build a huge island dedicated to culture. The Guggenheim museum, the museum of Arts and the Martime museum will be located there. That's how Abu Dhabi is investing his money into.
Another masterpiece is the Grand Mosque. Luckily, they let us into the prayer room. It looks really awesome and majestic. Check out my pictures.
So generally, people from Abu Dhabi are more relaxed than people from Dubai, the price level is lower, but if you want to party and entertainment than Dubai is still the place to go. It's only 1.5 hours away by car, so easy to reach.

My living environment changed, too. As many other interns already left Oman we merged two households into one. So now I'm living in Mawaleh, which is 20 min further west - out of the city - than I lived before. So my way to work is now 35 min by car- if there is now traffic - which is 45 - 50 min during the peak times. It is not that far, but unfortunately, we are more depended now on having a car and there are less people living nearby who cold give us a ride to somewhere. But therefore the house is much nicer :-) I'll how you some pictures soon.

Take care

Hajo

about the deadly desert and the generous beduins

Asalam*alaykum,


I hope this post finds you in good times. Today I want to tell you more about the country Oman.

Last weekend we went to the Omani desert - 50 degrees, endless rocks and sand, camels and still a beautiful place. Jihad (one of our Omani friends) got an invitation from his Beduin friend Hamdan, that we are all welcome to visit him and his family. So we did :-)

After several hours car ride, several time that we got stuck in the sand, that the wind blew sand in our eyes we reach the Barsma, an Beduin village in the desert. The Bedins gave up their nomad life quite some time and settled. But still they are trying to keep their traditions and way of life alive. So are hospitality and generosity major pillars of the society. Although we were 14 people, Hamdan's family invited us all for dinner, breakfast and lunch without hesitating and presented us amazing meals. They even slaughtered one of their goats for us for dinner. And they took their best one. I never met these people and still I didn't felt like a stranger.

Having some fruits as a starter for dinner and selecting our main dish (the goat) -we build our camp in the desert under a beautiful sky. Lightening up a camp fire we shared stories and drinks and enjoyed the mild 25 degrees :-) Who wanted to have an extra experience could watch some of Hamdan's friends slaughtering and preparing the goat.

After a few hours of sleep we got up at 6:00 am to see a camel race nearby. I have to admit that not all camels have an elegant running style :-) The most funny part for me were the Beduins who followed the Camels on their pick-up trucks to cheer / horn for them.
After that we had a nice breakfast at Hamdan's place and went on to hunt lizards in the desert. The Beduins developed an interesting technique. They search for holes in the sand, where the lizards live. Than they pump the exhaust fumes into the hole to suffocate the lizard. After a few minutes the lizards comes down by himself or you can easily pull him out. But the meat didn#t taste that good.

Having a nice lunch nap at the Beduin house and some chicken and rice we headed back home with full of memories between extreme heat and wonderful generosity.

Having arrived at home I decided to watch the new Batman movie (The dark night) in the movie theatre and had a great ending of the weekend by doing that.

So I hope you guys had a great weekend as well and hopefully the you some time here in Oman.

Hajo

Wadi bin Khalid - finaly I found cold water

Dear readers,


today comes another post about the countryside of Oman, Wadi bin Khalid !

This place is a drained riverbed in the mountains of Oman. It was an approx. 3 hour car ride from Muscat. If there would have been highways with more than one lane each direction, it would have probably only been around 2 hours :-) Because instead of driving 140 kmph we continuously got stuck behind a "slow" 100 kmph driving car.

Whatever, back to the Wadi. The Wadi itself is located in a deep canyon in the mountains. Because the whole riverbed is drained you'll find smaller stones and the end of the Wadi and huge rocks the closer you get to the spring. So, it turned out to become a nice hiking experience, as you can see on the pictures.
But the Wadi is actually not completely dry. From time to time you'll find some nice water pools between the rocks. After approx. 1.5 hour hiking trip we'll reached one of these. It was sourrounded by cliffs which were around 5-7m high at one end, And it was so deep that we couldn't see the ground. SO -> a great spot for cliff jumping. :-)))
And so we did, jsut right in the blue water and it was heavenly refreshing. It was not too cold, so that we didn't shiver but felt cold enough so that we didn't want to leave it any more. And it was fresh water, means drinkable.

After some nice jumps and fun, we headed back to our car, following some local boys who played chasing in the water pool and the surrounding cliffs.

So, if you ever have the chance to go to a Wadi, do it (not all of them are dry by the way :-)

My next post is going to be about my work at PricewaterhouseCoopers

Hajo